9.10.2011

Sorry I'm posting so late today, but [24D: "My alarm didn't go off," e.g.]. A lame EXCUSE, I know. The fact is, I didn't even set an alarm. And I would have woken up at my usual super early time except that PuzzleDaughter had a friend sleep over last night and let's just say there was some drama in the middle of the night. Ugh. In any case, there's always a lot to talk about on Saturdays, so let's get to it.

First of all, I just want to get this out of the way. Brad, you know I love you, but OVERWEENING? Really? I've Ne-Ever heard this word before and it caused me all kindsa trouble up in the northeast corner. That second E (well, technically the third E) was the last letter I filled in and I spent a good five minutes running the alphabet a couple times to make sure that was my best guess. Obviously didn't help that I've also never heard of WEIL (10D: "Gravity and Grace" writer Simone). At one point, I was sure the correct answer was OVERBEARING, but every other cross looked totally solid, so I eventually had to scrap that idea. I finally gave up — decided I either had it right or had it wrong and there wasn't anything else I could do about it. And I had it right. Yay.

Other entries I've never heard of? Why, yes, there are a few. Can't say that I've ever heard of SHELL STEAK, though it was relatively easy to figure out (64A: Cut with the tenderloin removed). That second L was a sticking point, though. As you may know, science isn't exactly my forte so HCL (59D: Strong acid, chemically) was a total guess and that last letter could have been anything. In the end, it seemed like L was the best guess. Again, I guessed right. Whew.

The other things I flat-out didn't know are all names:

26A: Dean's reality TV partner (TORI).

27A: Hall of Fame NFL owner Wellington __ (MARA).

46A: Cymbeline's daughter, in Shakespeare (IMOGEN).

57D: Two-time Tony-winning playwright Yasmina __ (REZA).

I felt like I should have known the Shakespeare reference, but … I didn't. I also thought the reality TV duo might ring a bell somewhere. I don't watch much reality TV, but it's hard to avoid some of the more popular names as you just go through life (I'm looking at you, Snookie). But Dean and TORI mean nothing to me.

Stand-out entries today include BARBED WIRE and MYSTIC PIZZA (4A: Range barrier / 62A: 1988 film set in a New England pie maker's shop). Didn't I just post a picture of Lili Taylor this week?!

Not too many write-overs today. The two that caused me the most trouble are both related to French (French!). I had NÉE where AKA was supposed to go (17A: Link between handles?), and MAI for MAY, thinking we needed the French spelling (45A: When the French Open starts). But I sure am chatty today. Let's get to the bullets so I can wrap this thing up.

Bullets:

31A: Divided country (USA). I don't understand this clue. Is it because it's divided into 50 states? Does it have something to do with use of the initials? My first thought put this clue in a political light, but we really don't see that in mainstream puzzles, so I'm sure it can't be that.

37A: Sch. whose students have won more than 200 Olympic medals (UCLA). Nice bit of trivia here.

61A: Yegg's haul (ICE). Yegg, which we've covered in CW101 before, is a slang word for safecracker, which I learned from crosswords. ICE is a slang word for diamonds. So there you go.

3D: Shipping inquiries (TRACERS). Hmmm. I would just call these TRACES. TRACERS have a more drug-related meaning to me. Did I say drugs? I meant fireworks. Yes, that's what I meant! Fireworks! (Hi, Mom!)

30D: Sci-fi character named for an Asian sea (SULU). Some more good trivia. My first though: "There's a sci-fi character named Aral?"

Crosswordese 101: The [43D: Baseball-like game with two bases] known as ONE O' CAT typically appears in puzzles as a partial — either ONEO or OCAT). The first time I saw it I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. By which I mean, of course, that I had never heard of the stupid game and couldn't believe someone would put it in a puzzle grid. But there it was. And then there it was again. And again. And finally I got used to it. All you need to know about ONE O' CAT for crossword purposes is that it's a ball game, a kids' game, a baseball variant, and a sandlot game. What you need to know about it for other purposes in your life, I have no idea. Probably nothing.

@pg Loved your blog. Obviously d different clue for "divided country" in your paper.Oneocat a stupid game? Au Contraire, mon ami!My WWII N.Y. childhood was spent on the streets of the city playing oneocat, a baseball game played with only two players per side (1st baseman and pitcher) when no other kids were around. The team "up" provided the catcher. If a member reached first then the batter also doubled as catcher. (If he didn't swing, he would catch the ball and return it to the pitcher.Many a happy boyhood hour spent playing this game. Definitely not "Stupid."

@pg Loved your blog. Obviously d different clue for "divided country" in your paper.Oneocat a stupid game? Au Contraire, mon ami!My WWII N.Y. childhood was spent on the streets of the city playing oneocat, a baseball game played with only two players per side (1st baseman and pitcher) when no other kids were around. The team "up" provided the catcher. If a member reached first then the batter also doubled as catcher. (If he didn't swing, he would catch the ball and return it to the pitcher.Many a happy boyhood hour spent playing this game. Definitely not "Stupid."

I solve online, so I had (and didn't get) the "divided country" clue for 31A. My thinking when USA appeared via crosses goes along with @Orange. Actually, I also agree with @PG's political take on the clue; even this puzzle has both NEOCON & BIDEN.

I actually "solved" this twice; once when it was available, and again this morning because the grid wasn't saved when I rebooted. Still took almost five minutes!!! About a minute looking for a typo. First time through I had entered Edgar ALLAN Poe off the crosses. Second time I keyed in ALLeN, which is easy to understand since my name is EllEn, and I just let my fingers do the typing.

Didn't like: SHELL (?) STEAK, but T-Bone didn't work, and isn't right as it most assuredly contained a circle of tenderloin. Turns out I know the cut as (Kansas City) strip steak. I consulted my "Joy of Cooking" here.

I agree that "Overweening" and "Shell Steak" are words/concepts not in play for probably 95% of the population...for me "profligacy" was also very obtuse. Sometimes, the puzzle crafter seems to be reaching for the more difficult challenges which is irritating, but at the same time all encompassing - and that's why we love solving them!

Yeah, "yegg" is pretty common in crosswords. When I was a kid, yeggs were burglars and safecrackers in comic books, not in real life. ONE O'CAT didn't happen in my nabe, but that wasn't hard to solve. I had problems with ENSNARE for "sucker" because I'm just not used to using sucker as a transitive verb. And BREEZE eluded me only because I was fixed on the idea of "in" coming before it, as in "in a BREEZE."

Oh, and OVERWEENING was easy because I read a lot of old texts, and the word is officially archaic and obsolete. PG, it comes from the Middle English "overwening," which is derived from the gerund of "overwenen."

My new hobby: Copying in all answers and tracing on the internet how stupid the clues are! "Lean in"???? Be serious - never used. As a Baseball historian - and a purist - One OLD Cat is the commonly used name for the two based game. Never heard of IN breeze or Breeze IN - all internet sources say "breeze BY'. How about a blog covering all the screw ups by the editing staff? Should be fun!!!